PMQs verdict today: serious Starmer quizzes Sunak on infected blood in emotional Commons as amputee MP returns

The House of Commons was emotional with the return of South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay, who made his first appearance in Parliament since his sepsis ordeal. On 28 September, the Tory was rushed into hospital and put into a 16-day induced coma, with his wife told he had only a 5% chance of survival. He has been left with multiple amputations, but returned to the Commons today to represent his constituents.

Both Sunak and Starmer paid tribute to Mackinlay, who was sat on the Tory frontbench with his family in the gallery. The Prime Minister’s first question from his own benches was about the latest inflation figures.

They have showed that the CPI had dropped to 2.3% - close to the Bank of England’s targets. Experts however dampened Sunak’s optimism by saying they still expected governor Andrew Bailey to hold the base interest rate at the current high until the end of the summer. Sunak crowed: “Today's figures show that the plan is working.”

With his questions, Starmer stuck to the infected blood inquiry, saying “reflects a profound failure across almost every part of the British state”. The inquiry’s report found decades of failures and cover up in the scandal which has led to thousands of deaths.

He called on the Prime Minister to bring in a “duty of candour” to all parts of the public sector, and urged the government to respond to the inquiry’s recommendations by the end of the year.

Sunak described the infected blood scandal as “appalling” and added: “I also pay tribute to the bravery of every individual who has come forward and told their story and their fight for justice. Their voices have now finally been heard and I agree with the honourable gentleman – we will listen to them and ensure that nothing like this can ever happen in our country again.”

Sunak also repeated his insistence that the general election will take place in the second half of the year amid mounting speculation he could have his eye on a summer polling day. The Prime Minister was challenged over the date of the vote by SNP Westminster Leader Stephen Flynn, who asked Sunak whether he is intending to call a summer election.

Flynn said: “Speculation is rife, so I think the public deserve a clear answer to a simple question. Does the Prime Minister intend to call a summer general election or is he feart?” He replied: “There is, Mr Speaker, spoiler alert, there is going to be a general election in the second half of this year.”

Who won PMQs?

Keir Starmer was obviously trying to appear Prime Ministerial by tackling the big issue of the week - the infected blood inquiry. He devoted all six questions to it, after the inquiry into the scandal found there was constant cover up as more NHS patients 30,000 were given contaminated blood as plasma.

This led to the Labour leader and Rishi Sunak agreeing repeatedly, on the seriousness of the issues and importance of the response. And it gave little chance for Starmer to land any political blows on the Prime Minister.

The Labour leader clearly wants to gain the public’s trust and show that he has the gravitas to be handed the keys to No10. However in a week where Sunak has again been under pressure, with the Times reporting that police have been told to arrest fewer people to cope with overcrowded prisons, perhaps the Labour leader will be regretting not going on the offensive.

In recent weeks, Sunak has struggled to cope with Starmer’s attacks - however this was a comfortable PMQs for him as he calmly set out the government’s response to the infected blood inquiry. I’m giving it a score draw, and the Prime Minister will likely be happier following the exchanges.

Ralph Blackburn is NationalWorld’s politics editor based in Westminster, where he gets special access to Parliament, MPs and government briefings. If you liked this article you can follow Ralph on X (Twitter) here and sign up to his free weekly newsletter Politics Uncovered, which brings you the latest analysis and gossip from Westminster every Sunday morning.